Westchester County District Attorney

June 5, 2018 -- Law school interns reported to work at the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office in early June. Students work closely with prosecutors on the day-to-day operations of the Westchester DA’s Office, thus giving them practical experience and a greater understanding of the judicial process.

The DA offers volunteer internships to high school, college and law school students interested in pursuing a career in law.

May 4, 2018 --

Defendant: Iran Colon (DOB 01/17/87), a Correction Officer, employed by NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

NY State Police arrested Iran Colon, a correction officer based at the Taconic Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, Tuesday at his home on Staten Island. He was brought to Westchester and arraigned on a 19-count indictment stemming from illegal activities involving an inmate victim between May 1, 2017 and Sept. 23, 2017. The charges are as follows:

• Three counts of Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree, class D felonies
• Five counts of Rape in the Third Degree, class E felonies
• Four counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree, class E felonies
• Seven counts Official Misconduct, class A misdemeanors

Colon has been released on bail. The next court date is May 22, 2018 in Westchester County Court. The defendant’s appearance is waived, meaning Colon does not have to be present. Colon is suspended without pay.

Defendant: Garth Trail (DOB 09/04/56), a former head cook at the Taconic Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, employed by NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

He was arraigned on one count of Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree. Its alleged Trail engaged in a sexual act with an inmate victim on Sept. 27, 2017, in the kitchen area of the facility. Trail was arraigned in Ossining and released on his own recognizance. Next court date is May 23, 2018 in Bedford Town Court. Trail resigned Sept. 30, 2017.

Defendant: Melissa Hill, (DOB 07/11/74), a former Correction Officer, employed by NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, has been charged with two counts of Official Misconduct stemming from acts in connection with a romantic relationship with an inmate from Nov. 19, 2017 to Jan. 30, 2018 in connection with her employment at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Hill was given a Desk Appearance Ticket and is due back in court on May 15, 2018 for arraignment in Ossining Town Court. She resigned April 16, 2018.

Facilities: Sing Sing Correctional Facility is located in Ossining New York. It is a maximum security prison that houses adult males. Taconic Correctional Facility is a medium security correctional facility in Bedford Hills that houses women only.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. spoke about the ongoing investigations:
“The Westchester County District Attorney continues to work with DOCCS Office of Special Investigations in this continuing investigation into criminal activity within the correction facilities in Westchester County. Any inappropriate action between an inmate and a corrections employee can damage the safety and security of prisoners, corrections employees and the greater community.

While we have completed these arrests, our prosecutors will vigorously work to bring these cases to an end even as we continue to work with the DOCCS Office of Special Investigations looking into criminal activity within the corrections facilities in Westchester County.“

DOCCS Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci said, “These latest arrests are thanks to successful investigations by the Department’s Office of Special Investigations, and our on-going partnerships with the Westchester County District Attorney and New York State Police. We have zero tolerance for any criminal activity within our facilities. These actions should prove to be a stern warning to others who may be considering similar shameful and illegal activities.”

ADA Laura Murphy, Career Criminal Bureau Chief and ADA Jennifer Sculco of the Public Integrity Unit are prosecuting these crimes.

In compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.6, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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Media contact:
media@westchesterda.net
(914) 995-3586

May 18, 2018 -- Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. sent letters to Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, Rep. Nita Lowey and Rep. Elliot Engel this week calling on them to pressure the U.S. Postal Service to focus its attention and manpower on ending the rash of mail theft in communities throughout the county.

In recent months, police in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, White Plains, Tarrytown, Harrison, Purchase, Bronxville, New Rochelle, North Castle and other communities have been investigating incidents where

• Curbside mailboxes were broken into either forcibly or by using a stolen key
• Curbside mailboxes were stolen outright
• Thieves used fishing techniques to take mail out of mailboxes
• Household rural-style mailboxes were emptied of their contents

The Outcome: Thieves take checks or financial documents with personal identification which can be used for identity theft and financial fraud. In some cases, checks are “washed,” meaning cleaned and erased of original information, and the “Payable to” or payable amount or both are changed. They are then cashed or fraudulently deposited. Several arrests have been made.

Victims: In some cases, residents were accused of not paying their bills on time when checks were stolen. Others have reported being victims of identity theft. Others who sent money orders, which work like cash, lost the stolen money and still owed their recipient with no way to recoup the payment.

U.S. Postal Inspectors are charged with monitoring how mail is processed and delivered. And while, inspectors continue to work in our area, we contend there are not enough inspectors to keep up with the criminal activity we are seeing in our cities and towns. There are only six postal inspectors, a team leader and one analyst budgeted to oversee much of the Hudson Valley, specifically Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, Duchess and parts of Columbia, Greene and Delaware counties.

And we’ve been told they have been short-staffed, down to three inspectors for some time, and now, there are only five.

In his letter to Westchester’s Congressional members, D.A. Scarpino wrote:

“Our office has been working with postal inspectors and local law enforcement to catch these thieves. Unfortunately, the number of postal inspectors assigned to Westchester is woefully inadequate.”

“We need you to intervene immediately with the United States Postal Service to have it initiate a comprehensive program to aggressively address this problem. Our constituents deserve better. This is a serious problem that has victimized thousands of innocent people.” (See full letter below)

The District Attorney’s Office will continue to work with local law enforcement to both protect our residents from this kind criminal activity and aggressively prosecute those involved.

Tips
In the meantime, residents can help protect themselves:

• Do not place checks in mailboxes. Use online payment instead.
• Write checks with gel-style ink that cannot be erased or “washed” like ink from a standard ballpoint pen.
• Check your credit card and bank statements daily for any unusual activity.
• If you think you have been the victim of fraud, the Federal Trade Commission strongly suggests you set up a “Fraud Alert” with credit bureaus. Follow the FTC's instructions.

Complete Letter to Sen. Charles Schumer and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand and Rep. Nita Lowey and Rep. Elliot Engel

May 15, 2018

Dear _______,

Westchester County has been experiencing a rash of thefts of mail. These thefts are occurring almost daily. Some of the crimes entail “fishing” the mail out of mailboxes, others involve the theft of the entire mailbox, and some involve the sale of the keys to the mailboxes by postal employees. 

Once the mail is stolen, the personal information is then used to “wash” the checks and steal the money. The other personal information is used for identity theft and other fraudulent activities.  Residents are being wrongly accused of not paying their bills because their payments are stolen by postal thieves.  

Our office has been working with Postal Inspectors and local law enforcement to catch these thieves.  Unfortunately, the number of postal inspectors assigned to Westchester is woefully inadequate.  We have been advised that there are three full-time inspectors assigned to cover the Bronx, Westchester and some northern counties.  Given the size of these counties and the pervasive thefts, this is ridiculous. 

We need you to intervene immediately with the United States Postal Service to have it initiate a comprehensive program to aggressively address this problem.  Our constituents deserve better.  This is a serious problem that has victimized thousands of innocent people.  People need to know their mail delivery system is safe and reliable.  Only strong leadership from our Congressional representatives will ensure that this is given the attention it deserves.   

Thank you for your consideration. 

Very truly yours,

ANTHONY A. SCARPINO, JR.

District Attorney

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Media contact:
media@westchesterda.net
(914) 995-3586

May 2, 2018 -- Today, Mayor Mike Spano, Police Commissioner Charles Gardner, and Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. announced a series of arrests which took place yesterday throughout the City of Yonkers and surrounding jurisdictions, targeting known members of the Blood Stones gang as a result of an intensive four-month long investigation. ‘Operation: Blood Stone’ is a collaborative law enforcement effort between the Yonkers Police Department and the Gang, Firearms and Narcotics Bureau of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

Members from the Yonkers Police Department, including the Emergency Service Unit and with assistance from the Westchester County Department of Public Safety and Departments of County Probation and State Parole, began executing arrests early yesterday morning, targeting twelve offenders who have been the subject of this investigation. The majority of these arrests took place on the west side of our City.

During the investigation, Yonkers Police detectives working in collaboration with our partners in the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, reviewed numerous incidents that were found to be connected to this group of individuals. Detectives conducted multiple interviews, debriefings, viewing of video recordings, physical surveillance and the execution of search warrants. Investigators were able to develop information targeting the Blood Stones gang, which was presented to a grand jury resulting in the indictment of these twelve  individuals. The defendants are facing felony charges of varying degrees including but not limited to Attempted Murder, Conspiracy, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Assault, and Gang Assault. The investigation is spearheaded by detectives assigned to the Yonkers Police Department’s Gang Unit, which is tasked with monitoring, investigating, and apprehending perpetrators of group violence, with assistance from the Third and Fourth Precinct anti-crime units.

Mayor Mike Spano stated, “I commend the great work of our Yonkers Police Department and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for their steadfast commitment to keeping our streets safe.  We continue to work diligently to ensure our communities are rid of these type of criminals so we can provide for a safer City of Yonkers.”

Police Commissioner Charles Gardner stated, “These arrests demonstrate the power of collaborating with our law enforcement partners and our shared commitment to public safety by working together to remove dangerous individuals from our communities. Yonkers is one of the safest cities because of the resolute determination of our police officers and detectives. I applaud their work and thank the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for our continued special relationship in fighting crime.”

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. stated, “Our newly formed Gang, Firearms and Narcotics Bureau within the District Attorney’s Office is showing results with cases like this – where our prosecutors have worked closely with Yonkers Police detectives to build a strong conspiracy indictment against members of this gang. We commend the diligent work of the Yonkers Police Department and Westchester County Department of Public Safety for this collaboration which resulted in rounding up members of this violent gang, and in so doing, making Yonkers and our surrounding Westchester communities safer.”

As of today, nine defendants have been apprehended with three offenders still at large. The investigation is on-going and we anticipate additional arrests – see attached poster for details. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the outstanding offenders is encouraged to contact the Yonkers Police Detective Division at (914) 377-7724 – all calls will remain confidential. 100 percent anonymous tips can be sent by texting the key word YPD plus the tip to 847411. Anonymous tips can also be sent to us directly through the Yonkers PD Tips app which can be downloaded for free to any Apple or Android device.

DA Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. at press conference

Panel of wanted images of Blood Stone gang

In compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.6, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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Media contact:
media@westchesterda.net
(914) 995-3586